Come March 17, you can expect to see nearly everyone wearing the color green. Why, you may ask. It’s St. Patrick’s Day, of course! To help you celebrate the day, here are some St. Patrick’s Day party ideas you may want to use.

Obviously, you’ll want to set aside St. Patrick’s Day for your party, if possible. If March 17 is on a weekday, you may want to have your party either the Saturday before or after so as many people as possible can attend. If you make the party during the evening, you may want to celebrate on the exact day.

Celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day began as early as 1737 in the United States; the first parade was celebrated in 1762 in New York City. Since that time, those of Irish descent and non-Irish descent have celebrated the holiday in a variety of ways. Some cities, such as Chicago, Illinois and Savannah, Georgia, dye their rivers green in honor of the day.

Why is St. Patrick’s Day celebrated March 17 each year rather than another day? It is said that the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick, died on this date in either 460 or 493 A.D. Although not much is known about the life of St. Patrick and he has not been officially canonized, he is thought of as being very important for Roman Catholics the world over. You don’t have to be Irish or Roman Catholic to celebrate, however.

Maybe you can’t travel to Ireland to celebrate St. Paddy’s day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some of the things they enjoy there. Make a Blarney Stone out of papier-mâché or Styrofoam; finding a large rock would also work. Since those able to kiss the Blarney Stone are supposedly given the gift of eloquent speech, you may want to see if that legend is true.

Create your own pot o’ gold filled with chocolate covered in golden foil. Have a child dress up as a leprechaun and guard the pot. Suggest they ask people wanting candy to sing a verse of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” “Danny Boy,” or another Irish song.

Decorate your home with shamrocks, rainbows, gold or orange and green flags. Prepare St. Patrick’s Day games or activities for children to enjoy while the grown-ups chat. Plan to have Irish music playing in the background to help with the ambiance.

Of course, you’ll want to offer up Irish or at least green cuisine. This could be as simple as using food coloring to dye various dishes such as cupcakes with green icing, green grapes, or chips with guacamole. You could actually prepare corned beef and cabbage, Irish stew, or Shepherd’s Pie. Offer green-dyed beverages as well.

There are so many things you can do when trying to come up with St. Patrick’s Day party ideas. You can use some of the ideas above, but you can also look on the internet to come up with others. The thing you want to remember is make the party fun for all and keep those Irish eyes smiling until next year’s party.